BG6.19

Sri Krishna gave us the elixir of Gita, which we have been tasting in various Kshetrams. We are now in Sathya Giri Kshetram, also known as Thirumeyyam. On the top of the hill is the fort and at bottom is the temple. There are two garbagruha in the temple, in one the Lord is reclining and in the other He is standing to grace the devotees. If we want to divert our mind from the worldly matters, then we need to come to these temples and that is why the idols are called Subhasraya Divya mangala vigraham. When we visit the temples, we realize some attraction in these idols. God is everywhere, and so this fort, the pond , the sky, the earth, etc., all should attract us. But they do not. Whereas these idols of the Lord with Discus, Conch, Bow and Sword weapons, many ornaments and garlands and with His Consorts, attract us. That is why the periodical festivals are held. Prasadams are distributed. All these are done to attract the devotees towards Him. By such attraction, the directionless wandering mind is restrained and disciplined. Yogam is directing the mind coherently on the atman. Now the 18th sloka:

yada viniyatam cittam
atmany evavatisthate
nisprhah sarva-kamebhyo
yukta ity ucyate tada

"When the yogi, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities to think only about atman,he is said to be well qualified to practice yoga and becomes desireless in worldly objects."

Tada =then, yukta = person practicing yoga, ity ucyate = is qualified. When? is the question. It is something like taking a test on-line to see whether one is qualified or not. Sarva =all, kamebhya = from [all] desires, nispraha = desireless. That is one becomes desireless from all in which one had desires. Then one is qualified to start yoga. It may create a fear whether this is possible for us. But let us see further the sloka. This desireless stage has to be reached slowly and steadily, just as we climb a gigantic hill. Yada =when, cittam = mind or thoughts, atmanyeva = towards his atman, vineeyatam = fully involved, avatishtate = exists. So, the person who is starting to practice yoga, has to train his mind to be involved in thoughts about his atman. Such a person qualifies to start yoga. First he has to divert his mind from all objects in which he had desire, towards atman. It may be for a small time, say 15 minutes to start with, and as he progresses, this duration can increase. Let us not forget that the yoga Sri Krishna is telling is not for 24 hours but for specific periods only. In such chosen time, one chooses a proper place and seat and sits erect and with eyes looking at the tip of the nose, starts meditating on atman. It may be for an hour or two. After that he is in his normal routines. We have to agree that atman is different from body and that was explained by the Lord in Chapter 2. To meditate on atman we have to first have a liking for it. Liking will come only if we have understood atman and its superiority. During this meditation naturally, we can not be thinking of other things and that is what Sri Krishna is driving at by saying our thoughts and mind should be directed on atman alone. In other words atman has to order the inanimate mind, which is also identified as an organ of the body, to think only about atman and nothing else. Mind has to be commanded, otherwise it will go its way and drift away. It is like a computer which does not have its own intelligence. We write the programs to be followed by the computer and it obeys all those commands. But sometimes due to bugs in the software, the computer encounters virus and starts malfunctioning. To correct the corrupted software we call experts and get the software cleaned up. Virus in our mind is the age old papa. So we have to remove this 'virus' in our mind. Karma yoga acts as the antivirus here. Once the mind obeys the command of the atman, after it has been debugged, it functions according to the commands and yoga is accomplished. This will make the person desireless. As an example, if a person was living in a hut, with his work, he achieves better salary and goes in for a better accommodation. Then, further progressing in his profession, he goes to a bigger flat and then an independent bungalow. At that time we find him having no desire for the hut or the small flat he used to live in. Because, he has accomplished bigger things and so smaller things no longer attract him or create a desire. Similarly, after enjoying atman, one would become desireless in the transient and cheap desires of worldly objects. Because we are yet to taste atman, we have doubts as to how we can forsake our desires on worldly matters. Once atmanubhavam is experienced, then automatically our desires for worldly matters would vanish. Initially, just like a parent diverts the child's attention from smaller things to better things in life, we have to give commands to the mind and divert it from other matters to atman.

BG6.18

We are in the Pandya Kshetram Thirumeyyam. Accepting the prayers of Adusesha, the Lord is gracing the devotees in the reclining posture and to the request of sage Satya, He is gracing in the standing pose. His vahanam [vehicle] Garuda is standing near the Lord in the garbagruha. Garuda wanted to end the slavery of his mother, by bringing the Amrut. So, he prayed the Lord to bless him with success. We will now see the 17th sloka:

yuktahara-viharasya
yukta-cestasya karmasu
yukta-svapnavabodhasya
yogo bhavati duhkha-ha

"He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system."

Dukha ha= capable of removing the distress, yogo bhavati = yoga is accomplished, yukta = just the sufficient, ahara = food, vihara = [just the sufficient] strolling, yukta = just the sufficient, cestasya karmasu= work in his business, yukta = just sufficient, svapnavabhodasya = sleep and alertness, such a person can accomplish yoga and can vanquish distress. Distress He is talking, is not just the suffering of not getting sleep or uneasiness due to excessive eating or tiredness due to excessive work. Earlier while understanding the word shanti, we saw six oormis or sufferings - asanaya [hunger], pibhasa [thirst], soha [ agony], moha [faint], jara [ aging] and maranam [death]. Yoga removes all these oormis. To accomplish yoga, one should have the required food, sleep, walk and involvement in work. All these are activities of a common man, like us. We can, therefore, have a sigh of relief that Gita is preached for people like us only. First He talks of food we eat. It should be pure so that the effect on our body also is pure. Such food will grow satva quality in us. We eat to live and not live to eat. We have to have balanced diet. Our stomach capacity has to be divided such that we fill half of it with solid food, one quarter for water and the balance one quarter is kept empty for air movement. This will ensure health. We have svasam, vadham and pittham [ according to Ayurveda or Siddha vaidyam]. If all these three are in equal proportion, body is in good health. All medicines are administered to ensure this equal proportion. Healthy body ensures proper functioning of mind. We should not take food that do not agree with our system. We should never consume food that has not been offered to Sri Krishna. All defects in the food are removed when we offer the food to the God. Vihara means some play or walking to digest the food taken. We have to mention here about the importance of observing fast on ekadasi, which occurs every fortnight. It ensures overhauling of the body system. Fasting in a fortnight will not cause any problem. When a patient is admitted in a hospital, he does not eat the normal food for a couple of days and just the saline water drips sustain the system and the patient is quite cheerful. So it is not necessary that we have to have our regular food to keep our systems in proper condition. After all, this fasting is just for a day in 15 days.More than this we also get the satisfaction of following Sri Krishna's advise [ He is going to tell the importance of fasting on ekadasi]. We have to involve ourselves in our work to the extent needed. We have to prioritise our requirements. Look at the Garuda here. He is used for procession for a maximum of 6 days or so in a year. All the other days he is resting only. So we have to have a balanced work schedule. Sufficient amount of sleep is to be there. Moderate food, stroll, work and sleep will make one to accomplish yoga capable of eliminating one's distress. Before going to bed, everyone can draw a balance sheet of that day's papa and punya deeds. Papa is expenditure and punya is revenue. We should at least repent for the papa done and close that account and not prolong it or carry over. We should not repeat such papa deeds. On the other hand, in case of punya deeds instead of patting ourselves for such deeds, we should try to excel them in the ensuing opportunities.

BG6.17

To get salvation the only way is to have devotion in Archa moorthy [Idols] in various temples, says Thirumangai Alwar, who is given a unique position among all Alwars. He is the one, who has composed hymns on maximum number -86- kshetrams of the 108. Also among the 108 Divya Desam, on 47Kshetrams, he alone has praised in his pasurams. On 61 kshetrams he and/or other Alwars have sung. When he visited Thirumeyyam, he offered his composition Thirukkurunthandakam. In the end of it, he says, among others, he who has devotion to this Kshetram, gets salvation. Others do not get salved. Tamil word for salvation is Uyyal and the name of the Thayar of this Kshetram is Sri Uyyavanda Nachiyar or Sri Ujjeevana Nachiar. So it is evident that those who seek asylum at Her feet will be salved. As we enter this temple, on the left is Thayar sannidhi with Her facing the East. Today [17th January 2008] we will pray for Her blessings and with Her recommendation [Purushakaram], we will go to the Lord. On the left the Lord is in reclining pose. Right of Him is the Sri Satyamoorthy, in the standing pose. On further right we can worship the Sri Varaha Perumal on the banks of the Pushkarini. East of all is the temple pond with all over compound walls. All are below the hills and on the top of the hills are fort and other buildings giving a wonderful sight. To preserve this monumental structure Archaeological Survey of India is maintaining all these. Sculptures are quite famous and with Her blessings we will go to sloka 16. In the 10th sloka Sri Krishna told the need to practice yoga. In the 11th and 12th slokas, He told how the external surroundings have to be. In the next two slokas, He told how to concentrate and focus eyes to start yoga. In the next sloka [15], He told that to make meditation successful, we have to think of the suddha satva guna embodiment -subhasrayam- of His image. In the next two slokas -16th and 17th - He is going to tell about another important aid to practice yoga. These two slokas are the most important and other aids are secondary only. Now, the 16th sloka:

naty-asnatas ’tu yogo ’sti
na caikantam anasnatah
na cati-svapna-silasya
jagrato naiva carjuna

"There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogi, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough."

By repeating the word 'na', Sri Krishna negates certain things. He says about our food, sleep, movements and our work. Na = no, aty = excessive, asnata = eating, yogo = yoga, asti = can not be. He who eats excessively can not practice yoga. Na ca = and also no, ekantam = continuous or altogetherl, anasyata = fasting or not eating. Person, on the other hand, totally fasting and does not eat altogether also will not be able to practice yoga. Na = no, ati = excessive, svapna silasya = person dreaming [actually this does not talk about dreams, but sleep], jagrato = always awake [ without a wink of sleep] , naiva ca = also not, Arjuna = Arjuna. Persons who are habitual of excessive sleep as also persons with no sleep altogether can not practice yoga. This implies that we have to have moderate food habits and timely and required sleep only. People normally think that yoga is very difficult to perform as it involves fasting and keeping awake for longtime, etc. Sri Krishna allays all these baseless fears and makes yoga practical for all ordinary people like us. It also does not mean that we continue with our bad habits. We have to progress and move forward, by slowly and steadily eliminating our defects. It is like the recurring deposits which fetch us good returns at the end of the term. Similarly, by improving our habits in a small way, we can achieve great results over a period. Vedas never advise wrong things nor advise for our ruin. It says to take ghee to prolong life. But in the modern times doctors advise us to reduce fat by eliminating ghee. These are to be critically examined and we have to alter our food habits to make us healthier and live longer. What use is there for milk without fat? It will be like having a flower without fragrance or diamond without lustre. We have to use the objects for their natural properties. We have to follow the footsteps of our ancestors and take food accordingly and in that moderated way. In sleep also, a person may need 2 to 3 hours of deep sleep. But he needs to have the sleep with dreams as a prelude and so normally one sleeps for 6 hours or so. Sleep is needed to recharge all our organs. According to shastras, during deep sleep our atman is in unison with the Lord and that rejuvenates our entire system. When only our organs remain passive with mind still awake, we get sleep with dreams. When the mind also is passive, then we get the deep sleep and it recharges all our organs including our mind. Deep sleep is also called brahmanubhavam as the atman is in unison with Paramatman. Late going to bed and late raising are not good for health. Waking up at least by 5a.m. is good.

BG6.16

Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that the person who is starting yoga should concentrate on Him. Here we may get a doubt. We are talking about atman sakshatkaram. Why should one meditate on Sri Krishna? In the last Six Chapters nowhere did He talk about meditating on Him. He was describing the way to have kaivalyam or atman anubhavam only. There are three types of experiences. What we experience in this world with our sense organs is called Aiswarya anubhavam or materialistic pleasures. The second is kaivalyam, which makes one to enjoy one's own atman and after death, this atman will be self enjoying in somewhere and there is no rebirth for that atman. The third is the most supreme experience of the atman with the Paramatman in Vaikuntam and that is called Mokshanubhavam. Sri Krishna talks of kaivalyanubhavam only till Chapter 6, by repeatedly mentioning atman sakshatkaram. Only from Chapter 7, He is going to tell about Bhagavadanubhavam, Bhakti, Bhagavat sakshatkaram, etc. But then why does He mention about concentrating on Him, in Chapter 6? To clear that doubt He says the 15th sloka:

yunjann evam sadatmanam
yogi niyata-manasah
shantim nirvana-paramam
mat-samstham adhigacchati

"By concentrating on Me and controlling the mind, the yogi, after releasing this body, attains peace just like Me"

Sada = always, atmanam = directing the mind, yunjann evam = only on Me [Sri Krishna], yogi = such a yogi, niyata manasa = controls the mind. The yogi who is meditating on me gets the mind controlled and gets the kaivalyanubhavam. So the result is kaivalyam only, but even that has to be through Sri Krishna. We have to understand one thing very clear. Though all these three experiences are different, anyone of these can be attained only from Sri Krishna. So, He is to be prayed whatever be our goal. Sri Krishna also appreciates those who pray for Him as the reward and so our aim should not be Aiswaryanubhavam or Kaivalyanubhavam, but Bhagavadanubhavam only. But to make us understand yoga, He is mentioning kaivalyanubhavam here. In Sri Varaha charama sloka, 'sthithe manasi...', the Lord tells that when the mind gets concentrated anytime, one should devote the mind on Him. A doubt may arise here. Are we to devote in Him when the mind is concentrated? Or, are we to devote in Him to concentrate our mind? Actually, our mind gets controlled and concentrated occasionally. Whenever such a situation arises, we should devote in Him. With this He will grant more and more power for us to concentrate and devote in Him. Whenever we find our mind controlled, at that time we should go to a temple or meditate on Him. This will start the process and slowly we will find our mind gets controlled whenever we are in devotion to Him. Why the mind gets controlled only if we direct our mind in devotion to Him? Why not we meditate on so many things we see? Our mind drifts in various directions because of the influence of the three qualities- satva, rajo and tamas. All we see also have these three qualities. Only the Lord is an embodiment of satva quality alone and we call it suddha satvam. So when we concentrate our mind in Him, our mind does not wander and gets controlled. What do we achieve by this controlled mind? This is explained in the latter half of the sloka. Nirvanam = discarding this body, paramam = at the border of [nirvanam], shantim = peace, adigacchati = attains, mat samstham = [similar to] the state in Me [Sri Krishna]. He attains some of the qualities the Lord possesses. Kaivalyam means one discards the body and this world. So such an atman has none of the six deficiencies nor has to be reborn. Six deficiencies are: asi = existing, jayate = born or created, parinamate = changes, vivarchyate = grows, apasyate = decays and vinasyate = gets destroyed. Any matter we see has these dificiencies. The state without these six deficiencies is called shanti. There are yet another six sufferings called oormi: acanaya = hunger, pitasa = thirst, soham = hardship, moham = delirium or unconsciousness, jara = aging and maranam = death. A person in shanti does not have these six sufferings also. This state is reached after discarding this body. A person starts yoga, for which he has to control the mind and so meditates on him. He practices yoga continuously and steadily and after discarding the body [after death], he attains himself [atman]. This state is called shanti. That stage is similar to the satge the Lord possesses. The Lord neither has the six deficiencies nor the six sufferings and so He is always in shanti as the person who after yoga has attained. But please note that here the Lord has told about kaivalyam, and we should never aspire for that and have Paramatma anubhavam as our only aim.

Note; On 19th and 20th January 2008 [Saturday and Sunday], to commomorate the 1000th Birth anniversary of SWamy Koorathalwan, Varadaraja Sthavam, will be lectured in Sri Varadaraja Swamy temple, Kanchipuram, between 8am and 10am, 230pm and 430 pm and 6pm and 8pm [total of 2X 6 hours for two days]. On 26th January 2008, devotees could join the Utsavam in Kooram village [in Kanchipuram and Arakkonam rail route].

BG6.15

If we want to know the truth of life, we have to study Gita, says Thirumangai Alwar. But if we want to see that truth, we have to come to this Kshetram and worship Sri SathyaNarayana Perumal. Today's [ 15th January 2008] lecture is from Sathya Pushkarini in the temple. This pond is octagonal shaped and is surrounded by compound wall and gardens. The color of the water is dark green and resembles the hue of the Lord, says Thirumangai Alwar in the pasuram 'sangendhum meiyan...'. He says hands that do not worship this Lord are no hands. Bathing on Sundays in this pushkarini and worshiping the Lord is considered important. Once all the sacred rivers assembled and prayed to the Lord. All persons bathe in them to wash off their sins and so lots of such washed sins had accumulated in them. So, they prayed to the Lord as to where they could wash off such accumulated sins. The Lord asked them to come to this pond and get their sins removed. If, we therefore bathe in this pond all our sins would be removed. Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that to remove sins one has to practice yoga. Now the 14th sloka:
prashantatma vigata-bhir
brahmacari-vrate sthitah
manah samyamya mac-citto
yukta asita mat-parah
"Thus, with a contented heart and controlled mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life."
Mat para = he directs his mind [thinks] always about Me [Sri Krishna]. Person who starts practicing yoga, slowly drives his mind fully involved in Sri Krishna. Prashantatma = contented person. A person who begins yoga finds a contented heart and so is not in need of anything. If this is the state at the beginning, when yoga grows and starts yielding results, the amount of happiness is immeasurable. Prashantatma means the mind is clear and is fully satisfied. No materials can give this happiness of contentment. This can be achieved by even poor persons also. Bhi = fear, vigata = removed. In our routine life with so many struggles and stumbles, we yearn for peace and happiness and we get a fear that whether at all we would ever get these. Sri Krishna allays such fear and says that if one could practice yoga as advised by Him, fear will be removed. Brahmachari vrate sthita = he should observe brahmacharyam [bachelorhood]. Does it mean that yoga is not for married people? Does it imply that only bachelors and sanyasins only could practice yoga? Here we have to understand things clearly. These stages are called ashram. Bachelorhood is one ashram. Married life is another and sanyasin life is yet another ashram. When a person is there in an ashram, he has to follow the rules of that ashram sincerely and correctly. Mixing of the customs will lead to chaos. In bachelorhood, the person should avoid sex life, while in married life sexual activities are permitted, according to shastras. Same shastras also say in married life when and how one could have sex. If a person follows that correctly, then even if that person is married, he is supposed to lead a bachelor life. Thinking of sex with illegal persons and at unspecified times, will make one disqualified for yoga. So, during yoga one has to follow brahmacharya vratam. Manas = mind, samyamya = gets controlled. Controlling means five disturbances have to be removed. they are: avidya - ignorance, ashmita - pride, raga - lust, dvesa - hatred and abinivesam greed. Macchitta = deposits his mind in Me [Sri Krishna]. Like we keep our valuables in safety locker and remain peaceful, we have to deposit our controlled mind in Him and remain carefree. It will ensure that the mind does not drift away. '..Kanda kangal matronrinai kaanave' - says Thiruppanalwar. Yukta = attentively. Person who starts yoga should be attentive and remain thinking of Sri Krishna always.

BG6.14

ThirumangaiAlwar, while composing 100 pasurams on Thirukkannapuram, has included this Kshetram - Thirumeyyam - in one poem. In that pasuram, he describes three mountains - Venkatam [Thirumala], Nerrmalai [Thiruneermalai, near Madras] and Thirumeyyam. In this pasuram, Thirumngai Alwar assumes a woman form and these are the words spoken by that 'woman's' mother. She says, her daughter is crying and tears are rolling like the streams from these mountains! Here we see both the mountains and the streams of water flowing from them. These two are the truth. That is God and His true devotees are the only truth in this world. All other variants we see in this world have to be removed. High -low, intellectual- ignorant, superior- inferior, all these are to be removed. If someone enquires as to who he was, it should be enough to say that he is a devotee of the Lord. This is the spirit of all the Alwars evident in their hymns. The Lord remains like the mountain and we, the devotees, should melt with devotion and flow like the streams. But the yogi, before he melts due to bhakti -devotion, remained like the mountain. Mountains do not get disturbed and remain stable. We also remain like that, till we are confronted by dangers. We get disturbed facing any bad things in life. But a mountain remains steady whatever be the condition. It is because of this, mountains are called Achalam in Sanskrit, meaning undisturbed. The Sannidhi of the Lord in the standing pose has a canopy [ vimnam] over it and is called Somasangra vimanam. But the Reclining Lord is in the cave and so the mountain itself is the canopy. We should remain steady like the mountain as far as worldly matters are concerned, but melt and flow like the streams in devotion to the Lord. This is yogam. We will now see the 13th sloka:
samam kaya-siro-grivam
dharayann acalam sthirah
sampreksya nasikagram svam
disas canavalokayan
"One should hold one’s body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose"
Here Sri Krishna tells how we have to keep our mind and body in control. In the previous sloka He told about place and seat. The way one has to sit in a secluded place s, He explained how the surroundings and seat have to be and these are exterior to our body. Just because we have good surroundings and the seat is firm and good, we can not conclude that we have mastered yoga. Kayam = the upper part of the body [above navel], sira = head, grivam = neck, samam = all these three parts of our body have to be in the same vertical line. Acalam = without a shake, sthira = remain stable, dharayan = concentrating. It may appear that the two words acalm and sthira convey the same meaning. Actually, acalam is unshaken or undisturbed for a short while. Sthira means remaining stable for longer durations. So, to practice yoga, we have to select a proper place and find a firm seat and we have to sit erect with our body straight and concentrate. We may have a backrest to support sitting erect. Disas = at all directions, anavalokayan = not looking, we have to keep our sight steady and not allow to look at all directions. Here only the organ of sight- eyes- are mentioned, as it is the gate for all other organs. If we can control seeing, then all other sense activities will be controlled. Nasika = nose, agram = tip or beginning, sampreksya = look at. Eyes without looking at all directions should see only the tip of the nose. Arjuna got doubt as to whose nose we have to look at? Svam = one's own nose; that is person practicing yoga should look at his own nose tip. Keeping eyes wide open will distract attention at the happenings around. Closing the eyes may induce sleep. Both are impediments to yoga and so He says with eyes half closed or half open, just like the way Sri Andal explains in Her Thiruppavai pasuram 'anganmagyala...'. While looking at nose tip, ornaments like nose stud should not be there as they will also distractons of concentration. So in a solitude place sitting on a firm seat, and keeping his body straight , erect and steady, he should concentrate by looking at the tip of his own nose.

Thirumeyyam-Azhagiya singar mangalasasanam

Sri Sathyamoorthy perumal

Thayar

BG6.13

Today's [11th January 2008] lecture is from the sannidhi, where the Lord graces in a standing pose. Like the Lord in Srirangam, both in the Reclining pose and in Standing pose, the Lord is facing the South. Thayar, however, faces the East. This place is called Sathya Kshetram, the hill is Sathya giri and the Lord is called Sri SathyaNathan or Sri SathyaMurthy or Sri Meiyappan. There lived a sage Sathya, meditating on the Northern side of the Himalayas. Once the Lord appeared before him and he prayed for Moksham. The Lord agreed to grant him, but the sage had to wait and do penance at this Kshetram. Sage Sathya told while he was prepared to go and do as ordered, he found it very difficult to leave the surroundings he was accustomed to for so many years. Especially, he could never think of leaving behind the river Pushpa Bhadra, the rock Chitra sila and Bhadra vatam tree. The Lord replied that sage Sathya could go to this Kshetram and could also take along the river, rock and tree. Pleased the sage arrived here. The river was transformed into the Pushkarini and the rock is available nearby. The tree also is here. After sometime, again when the Lord appeared before the sage, and he prayed for Moksham and the Lord replied that he had to wait for some more time, but a temple had to be built on Vaikasi Pushyam. Even now the annual Brahmotsavam is celebrated for 10 days commencing on the Vaikasi Pushyam. All devotees can come and have a wonderful experience here. The sage was wondering how he, a mere sage, could build a temple. The Lord also told the sage that He would grant Moksham along with King Pururavas. Pururavas was a Pandyan King. The Lord wanted him to build the present temple here. So, once He took a wild boar form and with a big herd entered the town. King's srvants tried to catch them but the Boar dodged and finally, the King himself chased the Boar. The Boar led him to this place, where sage Sathya was maditating and repeatedly told the sage, 'Pruravas has come'. The Boar then disappeared. To mark this, there is a sannidhi of Sri Bhoo Varaha Perumal. Both the sage and the King prayed the Lord for Moksham. The Lord was ready to grant it at once to the sage but wanted the King to build the temple in three years and then he also would get Moksham. Thus this temple was built. In this sannidhi where the Lord is standing, unlike in all places there is no pedastal and the Lord'd feet are directly on the ground. We can see the King Pururavas and sage Sathya inside the garbagruha. On the Left of the Lord, Garuda is standing with folded hands. Garuda wanted to release his mother from slavery and so meditated here. We will now see the 12th sloka:
tatraikagram manah kritva
yata-cittendriya-kriyah
upavisyasane yunjyad
yogam atma-vishuddhaye
"The yogi should then sit on it very firmly and practice yoga to get released from sins, by controlling his mind, senses and activities and fixing the mind on one point."
Atma vishuddaye= to get released from papa and get Moksham, yogam yunjyad = he shall do yogam. Tatra = in that place [the place described in the last sloka, where a solitude place is chosen and firm seat is provided], ekagram mana kritva = concentrating his mind on a single aspect [ on the atman], yata = controlled, cittam = mind, indriya = sense organs [ or the organ of mind], upavisyasane= seated, perform the meditation. It is imperative that meditation is done seated. We may think why so many conditions like, neat place, firm seat, closed eyes, etc., are prescribed, and why not yoga is done wherever possible? True, yoga could be practiced in any place. But, for the beginners, these conditions are essential. A person wanting to master vocal music, requires assistance of metre and shruti, while learning. But after learning well, the person is able to sing properly even if these assistances are not there. Similarly, one has to practice yoga in silent and neat surroundings and gain experience steadily. By concentrating our mind and collecting our thought on a single entity of atman, we should perform yoga, to get released from the bonds of papa/ punya. Many persons find it difficult to sit, but it is important we sit and do the yoga. We should give exercise to all limbs and other parts so that we are able to sit and practice. It appears about 27,000 nerves are controlled if we sit and practice yoga. By doing ashtanga yoga, it is said that, one could attain ashta maha siddhi. Ashtanga yoga prescribes yamam, niyamam, asanam, pranayamam, pratyaharam, dyanam, dharana and samadhi. So asanam - seat or sitting is very important. Sitting erect may be difficult without a backrest for some. Swami Ramanuja has permitted use of backrest if necessary.